Search engine giant Google has joined forces with the UK’s national library to offer researchers, students and academics easier access to millions of full text research articles.
Searches on Google Scholar will now include links to the British Library’s document delivery service. Search results will be matched against the library’s holdings and where a match is made, users will have the option to obtain articles held via the British Library’s online document ordering interface, British Library Direct.
The British Library said that, until now, online subject searches yielded many results that could not provide researchers with access to full text. By linking Google Scholar’s search software with one of the world’s largest document supply services, users can now complete the discovery-to-desktop-delivery process.
Lynne Brindley, CEO of the British Library, said, We exist for everyone who wants to do research and we give priority to initiatives that make our collection more easily accessible. By partnering with Google Scholar, the British Library will enable users to identify and locate relevant articles more effectively than has previously been possible.
